Video: How the Child of Light devs designed a visually unique character

When presenting the original concept trailer for Child of Light, one of the biggest pieces of feedback the Ubisoft Montreal team received was that there needed to be a stronger, more visually appealing main character. When it's time to go back to the drawing board, what needs to be re-evaluated first?

In this GDC 2014 session, Ubisoft Montreal's Patrick Plourde goes over the many iterations of the main character's appearance in Child of Light, showing the process which would eventually lead to creating a unique look.

The talk discusses sources of inspiration behind the initial art style, as well as the many iterations of art direction which occurred throughout development before a final decision was made over the main character's iconic design.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Americas.